Theory of valley-orbit coupling in a Si/SiGe quantum dot

Electron states are studied for quantum dots in a strained Si quantum well, taking into account both valley and orbital physics. Realistic geometries are considered, including circular and elliptical dot shapes, parallel and perpendicular magnetic fields, and most importantly for valley coupling the small local tilt of the quantum-well interface away from the crystallographic axes. In absence of a tilt, valley splitting occurs only between pairs of states with the same orbital quantum numbers. However, tilting is ubiquitous in conventional silicon heterostructures, leading to valley-orbit coupling. In this context, “valley splitting” is no longer a well-defined concept, and the quantity of merit for qubit applications becomes the ground-state gap. For typical dots used as qubits, a rich energy spectrum emerges, as a function of magnetic field, tilt angle, and orbital quantum number. Numerical and analytical solutions are obtained for the ground-state gap and for the mixing fraction between the ground and excited states. This mixing can lead to valley scattering, decoherence, and leakage for Si spin qubits.